Dear Juno, and any Other Teenager in a Similar Situation,
The maturity and courage that you maintain while handling this situation at such a young age honestly amazes me. I could never imagine myself going through a pregnancy at such an unstable point in my life, and I am two years older than you were. I respect your decision to carry out your pregnancy because if I were in your position, I probably would go through with the abortion process. I have too many dreams and aspirations for myself to dedicate so much time into a child, but that is my opinion and choice. Maybe, if this did happen to me, I would go to the appointment to have my abortion and end up canceling and running out, just like you. But I highly doubt it. That is why I respect your morals and ultimate decision to give your son up for a private adoption. Your audacity, maturity, and courage shows that one day, you will make a great mother.
I have a friend in a similar situation as you. She got pregnant when she was fifteen and decided to go through with her pregnancy and keep her baby at the age of sixteen. Throughout her pregnancy, she had no choice but to grow up sooner then a lot of her friends, causing her to lose many of them, but that did not bring her down. She realized that her life has changed and that baby will now become the most important thing in her life. Like you, she stayed in a public high school throughout the nine months of her pregnancy. In fact, she was only out of school for a total of two weeks for the birth of her new daughter, Ella. Ella is now six months and is a healthy, happy baby, all because of her mother, a sixteen year old girl, just like you, decided to keep her and nurture her that way. Her mother has been back in school and is graduating in the spring and plans to attend Santa Barbara City College next fall and eventually transfer to The University of Santa Barbara, all of this while raising her baby daughter.
I guess the point to my story is that teen pregnancy, like yours and my close friends, does not always turn out to be a disaster. In both your situation and hers, you found the maturity to accept responsibility for your actions and go through with your pregnancies to give your children the chance to experience the gift of life. Even though you gave your son up for adoption, you still gave him a life, and also you gave a woman, who was unable to conceive a child of her own, the opportunity to be a mother. Even though you were not prepared to be a mother, you still did something amazing. It also surprised me how you managed to still have fun and be a kid during your pregnancy, but you continued to remain responsible. You still would hang out with your friends and do whatever teenagers do, while you were pregnant. I respect you, and the actions and decisions that you have made because I highly doubt that I would be able to act in the same, mature manor if I were in your position. As a matter of fact, I highly doubt I would even have the guts and audacity to tell my parents that I was pregnant in the first place. But that's what makes you a responsible, mature, but maybe too grown up teenager, Juno. But because of you, there is a nine year old boy out there somewhere today, playing on the playground, or probably learning how to play baseball or something little boys do, all because you chose to give him, not only the gift of life, but the stable and mature environment to grow up in. One day, you will make a great mother, but being as young as you were, you made the right decision.
The maturity and courage that you maintain while handling this situation at such a young age honestly amazes me. I could never imagine myself going through a pregnancy at such an unstable point in my life, and I am two years older than you were. I respect your decision to carry out your pregnancy because if I were in your position, I probably would go through with the abortion process. I have too many dreams and aspirations for myself to dedicate so much time into a child, but that is my opinion and choice. Maybe, if this did happen to me, I would go to the appointment to have my abortion and end up canceling and running out, just like you. But I highly doubt it. That is why I respect your morals and ultimate decision to give your son up for a private adoption. Your audacity, maturity, and courage shows that one day, you will make a great mother.
I have a friend in a similar situation as you. She got pregnant when she was fifteen and decided to go through with her pregnancy and keep her baby at the age of sixteen. Throughout her pregnancy, she had no choice but to grow up sooner then a lot of her friends, causing her to lose many of them, but that did not bring her down. She realized that her life has changed and that baby will now become the most important thing in her life. Like you, she stayed in a public high school throughout the nine months of her pregnancy. In fact, she was only out of school for a total of two weeks for the birth of her new daughter, Ella. Ella is now six months and is a healthy, happy baby, all because of her mother, a sixteen year old girl, just like you, decided to keep her and nurture her that way. Her mother has been back in school and is graduating in the spring and plans to attend Santa Barbara City College next fall and eventually transfer to The University of Santa Barbara, all of this while raising her baby daughter.
I guess the point to my story is that teen pregnancy, like yours and my close friends, does not always turn out to be a disaster. In both your situation and hers, you found the maturity to accept responsibility for your actions and go through with your pregnancies to give your children the chance to experience the gift of life. Even though you gave your son up for adoption, you still gave him a life, and also you gave a woman, who was unable to conceive a child of her own, the opportunity to be a mother. Even though you were not prepared to be a mother, you still did something amazing. It also surprised me how you managed to still have fun and be a kid during your pregnancy, but you continued to remain responsible. You still would hang out with your friends and do whatever teenagers do, while you were pregnant. I respect you, and the actions and decisions that you have made because I highly doubt that I would be able to act in the same, mature manor if I were in your position. As a matter of fact, I highly doubt I would even have the guts and audacity to tell my parents that I was pregnant in the first place. But that's what makes you a responsible, mature, but maybe too grown up teenager, Juno. But because of you, there is a nine year old boy out there somewhere today, playing on the playground, or probably learning how to play baseball or something little boys do, all because you chose to give him, not only the gift of life, but the stable and mature environment to grow up in. One day, you will make a great mother, but being as young as you were, you made the right decision.
You rock Juno.
Sincerely,
Robin Bedard